


Fade Into You

by feelingsofmelancholia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker is Not a Jedi, Angst, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Canon Divergence - Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Force-Sensitive Reader, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, I make up rules of the force, Jedi Reader (Star Wars), Not Canon Compliant, Quote: The Force works in mysterious ways, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Romance, Slow Burn, Suitless Darth Vader, The Force, Visions in dreams, basically suitless vader/reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:07:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29953161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feelingsofmelancholia/pseuds/feelingsofmelancholia
Summary: "You only see him in your dreams.A flicker of an unknown presence that you haven’t ever felt before and it consumed you whole. Every time you closed your eyes and your mind drifted into your subconscious, you saw him. At first you didn’t know what this being was, if it was someone from the past that you couldn’t quite remember or someone you had seen in passing. Though, as the days went on and the dreams didn’t go away, you soon realized that you were dealing with someone with a powerful presence. No one should be able to infiltrate your dreams the way that he did."A story in which Anakin Skywalker never joined the Jedi Order and instead became Darth Vader just as Palpatine wanted. But what he never saw coming was you, a Jedi, who seemed to share a powerful Force bond with the Sith.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader/Reader, Anakin Skywalker/Reader, Anakin Skywalker/You, Suitless Vader/Reader
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been toying around with the idea of creating a suitless Vader fic for some time now . . . and now here it is? I hope that you all enjoy this, because I'm super excited to write this story!

You only see him in your dreams. 

A flicker of an unknown  _ presence _ that you haven’t ever felt before and it consumed you whole. Every time you closed your eyes and your mind drifted into your subconscious, you saw him. At first you didn’t know what this being was, if it was someone from the past that you couldn’t quite remember or someone you had seen in passing. Though, as the days went on and the dreams didn’t go away, you soon realized that you were dealing with someone with a  _ powerful _ presence. No one should be able to infiltrate your dreams the way that  _ he _ did. 

It always started the same way. You would walk around the dimly lit corridors of an unknown building, darkness felt through all sides of the Force the more you pressed on. Your dream self would turn the corner and he would be there, back facing you as he looked out the large window. And you would  _ join him _ in standing, glancing out at the large horizon, molten lava falling and pooling along crimson rocks. It was disturbingly peaceful, standing there with this stranger. The two of you never spoke, all intents of words forming died in your throat. It didn’t feel like a dream. Dreams were supposed to be made up of your imagination, though you never believed you could think of a place like this. It was so lifelike, almost to the point where you could feel the heat rising from the ground as you stood. 

Last night, as you stood with this stranger, focusing your attention on a specific volcano that erupted in the distance, you spoke out a quiet,  _ “Who are you?”  _ He was an enigma, and it wasn’t as though you were the one making these dreams happen. It was as if you were dropped here every night. There was something familiar about him, like you knew him but didn’t at the same time. Like a stranger and a friend. It had to be him controlling this. 

You could feel his emotions shift, and hearing your soft voice seemed to snap both of you out of this daze. You turned to him, but he was already looking at you. He stood taller than you, a strong build of a body dressed in all black along with a cloak that would tread on the floor behind him as he walked. You seemed to be around the same age, his features still bright with youth, a sharply cut jawline and messy dirty blonde hair that looked as if someone had tousled through it with their hands. Though, the most distinguished feature that this man had was his golden-yellow eyes, looking down at you as though he was staring into your very soul. You had never seen eyes like that before. It seemed dark, sinister, yet you felt yourself drawing closer to him. 

As alarming as his aura was, for some reason you knew that he wouldn’t hurt you. You didn’t know why you trusted a complete stranger, but something in the Force told you to. 

“Who are  **_you_ ** ?” He asked, relaying the same confusion that was laced in your voice prior. It wasn’t mocking, he really didn’t know what was going on here either. His eyes never left yours, hand coming and grabbing you by the wrist. The touch was unexpected and his grip was almost  _ painful _ , though not in the way one would think. It was almost a burning sensation, like the very collision of your skin against his was causing hot, white fire. “And what are you doing here?” 

“Y/N,” You answered, the words basically pushing out of your mouth. His gaze almost softened, another wave of confusion looking over his dark features. 

You didn’t have the chance to answer his next question, explain how you were dreaming and how you didn’t know why you were here at all. Because it was as if some other force was pushing you out of your dream, bringing you back to reality. Soon enough his touch was gone and you were waking up, eyes fluttering open to the grey ceiling of your room above your bed. Glancing at the chrono on your side table, you saw that it was still early in the morning, no one would be up except maybe the council, doing their daily morning meeting before the day started. 

Settling on the realization that there was no way you were going to get back to sleep, you moved to sit on the edge of your bed, feet falling against the floor. You hissed, feeling a sharp pang of pain shoot through your left wrist. There was a ring of burned skin around your wrist, red and blistering in some places and in the shape of a hand.  _ The dream _ . Your thoughts took you back to that moment where the man grabbed at it, and realized that the burning sensation you felt was real and wasn’t a figment of your imagination after all. His touch physically  _ burned _ you. The thought was unsettling, that you had such a connection with this unknown man that he could touch you through the force. Yet, on the other hand, it filled you with more wonder. 

~

They say that attachment leads to the dark side. 

Growing up in the Jedi Temple for all these years, you had repeated this to yourself multiple times. Whenever you find your heart pick up with worry over another fellow Jedi, you repeat what you had been taught. Over and over again you did this, until it stuck and your anxieties subsided enough to where you were sure your emotions were not getting the better of you. However, as much as you did not want to admit to yourself, you wondered how you were supposed to live your life without growing attached to anyone. You were Jedi, a peacekeeper, a  _ guardian _ . It was your job to be compassionate, to fight for the good and keep the peace of the galaxy. And you did show compassion in anything that you did, even though at times you knew you were growing closer to the people you served with. It was a hard balancing act that you were still wavering on, and suspected that most Jedi had these same thoughts, they just never voiced it out loud. 

It was later now, the shimmering lights of Coruscant illuminated the hallways of the temple, making shadows dance across the walls to any type of movement. You couldn’t sleep. In fact, you really didn’t want to sleep because you knew what would happen if you did. You weren’t scared of him, whoever he was, a hidden stranger in the depths of your subconscious. Though ever since you were given the burn on your wrist, you had been uneasy to the thought of closing your eyes and drifting to that place. Deep down you felt through the Force that he wasn’t trying to hurt you, and perhaps maybe he had done it without his knowledge. Was he even a person? The man seemed to be, though looks can be deceiving and the thought of speaking to him once again seemed too  _ consuming _ to even imagine. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a figure walking towards you. The familiar Force Signature relaxed you, not bothering to turn and keeping your eyes focused on the trails of ships making their way to one place or another for the evening. Obi-Wan was a friend of yours, more so a companion that you grew to know throughout the war. You were younger than he was, but he never treated you much differently despite his obvious position over you in the Order. Should you tell him about your dreams? It was the type of thing you knew you should inquire Master Yoda about, though you found that once in a while when you came to the old, wise Master, he didn’t hold all the answers that you hoped for. Obi-Wan was a friend. You could trust him. 

“Good evening, Knight Y/N,” Obi-Wan greeted, his taller figure standing beside and joining you in looking out the window. “Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep? It is awfully late.” His tone was wavering, skeptical, like he knew something was off just by being close to you. Your aura was off, stems of cool waves emitting from you the deeper you delved into your thoughts. 

How  _ were _ you supposed to answer that? The normal Jedi response would be  _ ‘I’m just fine, thank you’ _ but you weren’t. You were confused and you weren’t sure what to do. You still looked ahead as you asked, “Master Obi-Wan, do you know anything about how the Force ties into dreams?” You turned to face him now, eyes showing a mix of curiosity and anxiety while he was already staring at you. The more he searched them, the more concerned he grew, you could feel his signature reaching out towards you while he remained motionless as a statue. 

It wasn’t in his nature to walk away from someone who needed help with an issue, but your question was odd. “What kind of dreams?” He asked, voice in a hushed whisper. 

“I’m not sure, they’re hard to explain. It feels like I’m  _ inside _ of them and in control of them to a certain extent,” You replied. 

“Is there anyone there with you?”

You hesitated, closing your eyes and seeing the picture of your stranger staring down at you. The golden curls that framed his face, those eyes of his . . . They were all with you now even as you were awake. It was a loaded question, you thought, especially when he felt so close now. The moment you opened your eyes and were once again met with Obi-Wan’s ocean blue ones, you took in a breath and remembered that you were within the safety of the Temple. No one could touch you here. “Yes, there’s a man with me,” You responded. Your heart was beating endlessly against your ribcage, this being the first time that you have actually spoken about your encounters. The burn marks on your wrist felt like heavyweights, rejoicing that you were acknowledging them, acknowledging  _ him _ . “I don’t know who he is, it’s like he is a stranger, but not at the same time. And I just want to know what it all means.” 

“I’m not sure myself. I’ve never heard of this happening before,” Your friend said solemnly, dissatisfied with himself that he wasn’t able to come up with a solid answer. 

“That’s what I was afraid of.” You sighed, feeling foolish at thinking you could solve this problem that easily. Things were never that easy, especially when it came to the Force. There was so much that you didn’t know, so much that  _ no one _ knew. And it was somewhat agonizing. You were in tune with such a powerful part of the universe and you didn’t know the first thing about it. All these years you spent at the temple and all the years to come, were they going to amount to anything? Were you going to be satisfied in the end? “Last night was different though, we spoke to one another.” 

“You haven’t spoken before?”

“No, we never did. And he didn’t seem to know who I was either or what was causing this to occur. But I don’t know, Obi-Wan, for some reason I have a bad feeling about this. Like I shouldn’t be messing with the Force in this way.” 

Your friend didn’t speak for quite some time, his calloused hand reaching up to scratch at the blonde beard he had grown out over the years. His eyes shifted from yours to the ground, making your hands clench together without your permission. In this moment, you berated yourself for ever saying anything about it. There was obviously something wrong and he didn’t know how to tell you, or even worse, he would have to tell the council. What if these dreams were the dark side tempting you? What if you weren’t strong enough to be a Jedi and were doomed to fall? You were spiraling, and it didn’t help that Obi-Wan wouldn’t even  _ look _ at you. 

It felt like an eternity went past before Obi-Wan said, “I think that you should try and communicate more with him.” That seemed like the last thing you thought he was going to say. And it seemed dangerous, unlike most plans that Obi-Wan had where he guaranteed that the most would be safe. But then you remembered he was completely going into the wind, he knew as little as you did. “If the Force is truly causing this to happen, then it must be a good thing, right? Us Jedi, we need to trust in the Force wherever it guides us.”  _ Trust in the Force, Y/N. _

Master Obi-Wan had a point. The Force wasn’t supposed to do anything without purpose, at least, you needed to believe that was true in this moment. So you quickly said goodnight to the man and turned on your heel towards your room, hearing only the echo of your footsteps as you thought. You would go to him, whoever this stranger was. You would go to him and finally get to the bottom of whatever was happening to you. You were a Jedi, you could do this. And as you got ready for bed and settled into the soft beige sheets, you ignored the way that your wrist felt as if it was completely submerged in fire. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet with the mysterious stranger and finally learn who he is. You also learn that the Jedi Council may have not been as truthful with you as they say they have.

_ I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.  _

Your eyes opened and you were once again standing in the long, dark hallways of the building that no longer felt unknown to you. In fact, you reveled in the way that the duracrete was the exact same way as the night before and the one before that. You focused inward, conserving your energy to attempt and get some answers while you were here. Time seems slower here, like you could stay forever and it would only be an hour in the real world. 

Making your way down the same passages you had grown accustomed to, you searched for the window, which was in the exact same place, with the stranger still there. Instead of keeping his back to you as you walked close, he turned and glanced at you, golden eyes scanning your face before going back to the outside world. A phantom push sent you closer, until your feet stopped in the place that they always did. The interaction was vaguely familiar to the one you had with Obi-Wan when you were awake, looking over the buzzing life of Coruscant. Except now you were looking at nothing but lava and ash, and darkness surrounded you. 

“Y/N.” 

You weren’t sure if you imagined it, the way that he spoke so loudly and clearly, obviously remembering the last tiny conversation you had together. He said your name with such certainty, like he was greeting an old friend. You remembered that the only thing he knew of you was your name. He didn’t know that you were a Jedi, that you worked with the Order, or that you were a commanding general in the Republic Army. Typically when you met someone new, they immediately were told of the small title you held as a Jedi Knight. But not him. You were just Y/N with him, and that calmed you in a way you’ve never felt before. 

“That is your name, isn’t it?” He spoke again. 

You nodded. “Yes, it is.” 

“What are you doing here, Y/N?” 

He was looking at you now, in the same way that he did last night. It sent a shiver down your spine.

“I don’t know where  _ ‘here’  _ is,” You responded. “I don’t know who you are either.” 

There was a tiny, inaudible whisper that sounded like it was coming from behind you, but when you glanced over your shoulder, there was no one there. It was just you and him. The whisper sounded again, this time closer, in your mind. It felt like a tiny flutter.  _ Vader. _ A voice sounded in your brain. And then again,  _ Vader _ , louder now and more clear. All around you, little whispers said the same one word over and over again like a broken record that had no means of stopping.  _ Vader. Vader. Vader. _ But the man seemed unphased like he couldn’t hear anything. It was all in your head. The Force called to you through all sides, overwhelming your senses and almost pushing you out of balance. 

He chuckled, like your confusion amused him. “You know more than you think.”

“Vader,” You spoke his name out in the open, testing the feeling of the word on your tongue. It was weird, foreign, you’ve never heard of it before. It grew the notion that perhaps he wasn’t real after all, that you were creating all of this within the confines of your own mind. Still, he seemed too unknown and powerful to be just your imagination. 

“See? The Force is supposed to guide you,” Vader stated. 

“What do you know about the Force?” 

“I know enough to sense that you’re a Jedi.” 

“And what are you?” 

Vader didn’t respond. When you finally saw his face, there was a sense of playfulness in his stature. He seemed calm, unlike you who began to buzz with anxiety. He didn’t look like he was out of place, he had been here before, walked these halls other than now and looked out these windows without you. You didn’t know how you had never seen it before. His eyes that shined orange like the sun, the power of the Force flowing through him, the dark clothing that fit his body snug. 

“You’re Sith.” The words echoed through the silent hallways. 

You took steps backwards, the clicking of your boots sounding as you tried to make distance between yourself and him. Vader was  _ Sith _ . Out of instinct you reached to the side of your hip, hand grasping around nothing in the holder where your lightsaber was supposed to be. Resorting to your last hope, you brought your hand up, hoping to push him away with your abilities. But nothing happened. You were completely powerless and weaponless. And you were just about ready to run when your eyes traced to his side, seeing no lightsaber, and inferring that his power wouldn’t work ever. Both of you had no way to fight, the Force didn’t want you to fight for whatever reason. 

“Yes, I am.” 

“Then you did this! What do you want from me? Why are these dreams happening?” 

He took a step closer and you took one back, keeping the same distance between you two. You held your hands up, knowing that if he was to strike, at least you could use some form of hand to hand combat you had been trained to do. 

“I had nothing to do with this. Trust me,” Vader said. “I am just as confused as you are.” 

You shook your head. “Why should I trust a Sith?” All your life, you heard stories of the Sith and how they reigned terror on anyone they came into contact with, whether they were innocent people or Jedi who tried to stop them. Obi-Wan was the first to kill a Sith in over 100 years, and you knew that Darth Maul was the one to kill Master Qui-Gon Jinn, a powerful Jedi. A constant darkness loomed over the galaxy, knowing that there were always two Sith. There was still one out there, maybe you even found them now. Sith were evil and needed to be dealt with. They didn’t use the Force the way that it was intended to be, the Force was supposed to be used to create peace, not to destroy planets and lives. You could never trust a Sith. 

“You shouldn’t, you’re smarter than that,” He spoke. “I have no way of proving my-” Vader paused. “- _ Innocence _ , for lack of a better word, to you, so take it as you will. Every day I wake up and wonder why the Force would connect us in such a way.” He holds his hand up, the one from last night that grasped onto you. Wiggling his fingers, you could see the dark red splotches of burnt skin on his fingertips, curled around them like the rounded shape of your wrist. He too was facing the physical complications that came with your connection, which led you to believe that maybe he was telling the truth about having no involvement in this. You raised your wrist, showing the same type of burn that you adorned. He walked closer now, this time you didn’t back away, allowing him to once again be as close to you as he had been before. Vader’s hand reached out, almost to grab your wrist to inspect, then remembering the effects of last time, put it back down to remain at his side. 

“Is there any way for us to figure this out?” You asked, your tone much calmer than it had been before. 

Vader shook his head, a sigh coming past his lips. “Not without . . .  _ Seeing _ you.” 

“You’re seeing me right now.” 

“Not in a dream.”

_ Oh. _ He meant in the real world, not this dream world that you had somehow created together. You wondered why he seemed so . . . calm from a Sith (or at least, the things you had been told), perhaps it was in his dreams where he was the most vulnerable. In this world you were safe from his power, his possible destruction and anger, but in the real world you were not. There was a chance that you two would meet and a fight would break out, and you weren’t sure if you were ready to truly fight the darkest side of the Force. 

A dark, inescapable mist started to seep through the halls of the building. It built up around your ankles and began to pull you away from your dream. This had never happened before either. Typically something would just push you towards consciousness, but this mist felt as if it was ripping you from your mind. Your eyes darted from him to the floor, knowing that you didn’t have much more time left. Maybe a minute or so, if you really held on. You began to shake more now, feet becoming unsteady. “I can’t hold on for much longer,” You yelled towards Vader. He did nothing, only stared. 

Just as your mind seemed to shred into two, you heard him speak: 

“Meet me on Mustafar if you trust me.” 

~

Your screams were the only thing that could be heard within the confines of the Jedi Temple, in the ears of every Master, Knight, Padawan, and Youngling that resided there. Master Kit Fisto was the first to hear them, being in one of the rooms closest to yours. At first he only intended to wake you from whatever nightmare you were having, but when you showed no signs of stopping, almost detached from the real world, he quickly ran to get help from the other Masters of the Order. A crowd began forming in the hallway outside of your room, Younglings and Knights alike wondering what was going on. If they didn’t know any better, they would think that you were being tortured or killed, your screams rippling through the air. When all the unwanted bystanders were cleared out of the way, half of the members of the Jedi council stood in your room along with someone from medical. 

Master Yoda put two fingers to your temple, soothing your thoughts and silencing your screams. As you laid there as though you were sound asleep, the medic checked your health, seeing that there had been nothing physically harming you at all. It was as if you snapped. 

Your eyes fluttered open, heart lurching when you came face to face with your Masters all standing before you. Sweat was dripping off of your forehead, chest heaving up and down in deep breaths of air. It was like something was jammed down your throat, you didn’t know what to say. You were sore all over. They were all waiting. 

“Knight Y/N, Master Obi-Wan has told us about your dreams,” Master Windu told you. “Do you have any idea who this man is?” 

You could only think one thing, form one word. It was the same word the whispers told you, the same one you knew would consume you the moment you said it out loud. The name of the man that confused you, though knew you, and filled you with deep senses of grief and calm at the very same time. 

“Vader,” You croaked out. “His name,” You took a deep breath, throat raw from screaming. “Is Vader.” 

All of the others in your room looked as if they had seen a ghost. Their expressions were emotionless, but you couldn’t help but notice the way that Obi-Wan seemed to grow white in the face. To your surprise, even Master Windu looked alarmed. It was clear that everyone knew something that you didn’t know. 

“For you to know, it is time, Knight Y/N. The truth, we must tell,” Master Yoda said. 

The Council ordered you to come up to their meeting room on the top level of the Temple immediately, you only had time to grab a brown blanket and wrap it around your shoulders, shivering. The moment you stepped in the room, which was dark except for the moonlight spilling in. It was late, well past midnight and everyone looked tired. Though no one had any intentions of going to sleep, not when there was something important like Vader to discuss. 

A droid came and handed you a cup of tea, which you accepted with no questions asked and sipped it. While everyone got situated in their seats, you thought back to your dream. It was there that you remembered what Vader had said. 

_ Meet me on Mustafar _ . 

You had only read about the planet, never having been there. What was Vader doing in a place like that? Then you could hear his voice through your subconscious: 

_ If you trust me. _

Putting your trust in Vader seemed like the last thing you should be doing, but the thought was tempting to say the least. 

_ If you trust me.  _

_ If you trust me.  _

_ Meet me on Mustafar, if you trust me. _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! The next chapter should be a little longer, with explaining what the council has been hiding and some other stuff :'))) Feedback and Kudos are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> This was mostly needed to set the stage a little bit. But I hope you enjoyed! Feedback and kudos are always appreciated, thank you for reading!


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